Saving Claire
by sk8r-grl
Summary: AU. Claire is taken by the Others. Will Charlie and Jack be able to get her back safely?
1. Taken

"Would you, er, like to go for a picnic?" Charlie rehearses this line over and over.

"Sure, but as friends. I'm not into that Brokeback stuff." Sawyer's voice interrupts Charlie.

Charlie rolls his eyes. "Not you, you idiot!" he snaps.

"Well, then Shorty, who ARE you talking to? That piece of grass?" Sawyer teases, taking a seat beside him.

Charlie scowls at the southerner. Sawyer always found a way to tick anyone off. "I'm asking Claire out." Charlie states.

Sawyer looks around. "Claire isn't here."

"I'm PRACTICING asking Claire out."

"Oh, well, ain't that cute." Sawyer smirks, nudging Charlie in the shoulder.

"Shut up."

"You're actin' like a teenager. If you wanna ask her out, just do it!"

"You think so?" Charlie inquires.

"Yeah, limey. It'll work." Sawyer states, leaning back on his elbows. "So, when are you gonna ask her, loverboy?"

"Er, later...?"

"It's almost afternoon! Ask her now!!" Sawyer asserts.

"It was kinda gonna be tomorrow--"Charlie begins, but Sawyer cuts him off.

"Well, now it's gonna be tonight."

Sawyer stands, pulling Charlie up by an elbow. The Tennessee man looks around before spotting Claire. He drags Charlie down the shoreline. "NO! I-I dunno what I'm going to say! Let go! Lemme go!" Charlie squeals in protest. Sawyer rolls his eyes. Never in a million years would he imagine himself playing match-maker for a limey runt and his girlfriend. Sawyer shoves Charlie at Claire, smiling. Charlie trips forwards and nearly knocks Claire over. Sawyer's laughter echoes throughout the camp. Charlie pales before blushing quite noticeably. Claire smiles up at him, readjusting her laundry basket in her hands.

"Hey, Charlie. Did you want something?" she asks.

"Yeah, er...yeah." Charlie stutters, nervously fiddling with the hem of his t-shirt.

"Yeah?" Claire asks.

"Well, I was wondering if you...uh, if you would like to go on a, um, picnic with me...for supper." Charlie trips over his words.

"Oh, well--" Claire begins.

"You can't? Sorry. Sorry." Charlie cuts her off.

"Noo. I was going to say yes. I just have to arrange it so Sun will take care of Aaron." Claire giggles.

"Oh! Oh, okay...Great. I'll come get you when it's ready. Okay." Charlie beams.

Charlie turns and begins to walk off. Sawyer catches up with him. Charlie sighs. He had thought Sawyer had left.

"So, Nike, did you 'just do it'?" Sawyer asks.

"Yeah. Right after I nearly tackled her, thank you." Charlie smiles.

"Well, did she say yes?"

"Yeah," Charlie blushes.

"I told you it'd work. You kids have fun...Wait!" Sawyer states, racing back to his tent.

"What now?" Charlie utters under his breath.

Sawyer is gone inside his tent for a minute before he reemerges with something in his hand. Charlie squints, but cannot see what it is. Sawyer finally reaches Charlie. He hands him a bottle of grape juice. Charlie smiles, taking it. He smiles up at Sawyer.

"Thanks, mate," Charlie grins with a laugh.

"I thought maybe you could use it."

"Thank you, Sawyer," Charlie repeats, turning and walking off.

Charlie spends the entire rest of the afternoon perfecting the picnic spot. It was down the beach. Far enough so that they couldn't be seen, but a close enough jog if they were desperately needed. Charlie sacrificed his bedsheet even though he knew sandfleas would probably get on it. He had gathered wildflowers from the jungle and set them in a bottle of water like a vase. He had prepared fish and boar and had smuggled a jar of peanut butter from Hurley's stash. When dusk began to fall, Charlie races back to the hut he shared with Claire. She wasn't there, so Charlie quickly changes into a clean black shirt and jeans. He waits anxiously for Claire to return. She does and is wearing a beautiful white dress Sun had packed. Charlie's jaw drops.

"Are you ready to go?" Charlie asks.

Claire nods and links arms with Charlie. He leads her down the beach. People stare after them. Claire leans her head on Charlie's shoulder and gazes up at him. He smiles down at her. They finally reach the picnic spot where they see--

"Sawyer?!" Charlie exclaims, surprised to see the southerner lighting torches.

"You forgot lighting. I got you covered." Sawyer smiles, lighting the final torch before racing off.

Claire laughs briefly. "That was nice." she smiles.

"And weird." Charlie jokes.

They take a seat on Charlie's blanket. Claire immediately spots the flowers. She admires them and smells them. Charlie smiles before bringing out the grape juice. Claire giggles and gratefully accepts the glass Charlie pours her. They eat their fish and boar quietly, smiling giddily at each other every now and again. Charlie smiles, looking at the peanut butter, eager to surprise her with it. Claire finally eats her last bite of fish. SHe thanks Charlie before he says, "I have something else."

"What?" Claire asks.

Charlie pulls out the peanut butter and Claire laughs. She watches as Charlie opens it and holds it out for her. She sticks her finger in it and gets a glob of peanut butter. Charlie smiles at her before setting the jar down between them. He scoops some out with his finger and sucks it off. Claire and him eat and talk.

"So, you've never wrapped a house?" Charlie asks.

"Nope. Never." Claire responds.

"You were a good girl!" Charlie laughs.

"At least I wasn't a rebel child!" Claire states with a giggle.

"I was a choir boy! I did the laundry at my house! My brother just dragged me out with him!" Charlie states.

"You were a good boy!!" Claire mocks.

"Haha." Charlie pretends to laugh.

"Well, all the same, I still like you."

"Good."

"Even though you were a laundry boy!" Claire snickers.

Charlie scoops a small glob of peanut butter on his forefinger before plopping it onto Claire's nose. "Ha." he laughs triumphantly.

Claire wipes her nose before hitting Charlie lightly on the shoulder. Clairte laughs hysterically as Charlie tickles her in defense. Claire is finally able to grab his wrists. This stops him from tickling her. "I've got you now!" she smiles, catching her breath. Charlie smiles before leaning forwards and softly kissing her on the lips. Claire sighs into him. She slowly lays Charlie back.

Raising her head up, she aks, "What do you think?"

"About?" Charlie asks, looking up at her.

"Us. This."

"I think it's bloody perfect. You're bloody perfect." Charlie smiles flirtatiously.

Claire grins back. She kisses Charlie again. Suddenly, a noise in the forrest breaks them apart. It was the crackling of a bush. Claire sits up quickly. Her eyes dart around, but she sees nothing. No one. Charlie slowly sits up, too.

"Did you hear that?" Claire whispers.

Charlie nods. "It's--It's probably just Sawyer." he tries to reassure her.

Claire's breath is shaky as she holds tightly onto Charlie's hand. Charlie squeezes her hand comfortingly.

"Hello?" Charlie calls out.

"Hello," a voice says behind them.

They turn around to see a bearded man. Charlie scrambles to his feet, blocking Claire.

"Now, Charlie, please get out of the way so I can see Claire?" the man asks.

"No." Charlie hisses.

"Charlie, move out of my way." the man states just as calmly, pulling out a handgun.

"No." Charlie grumbles.

"Charlie, move." Claire hysterically says upon seeing the gun. "Don't shoot him?"

"I won't if he would move." the bearded man says.

"Leave us alone." Charlie threatens, his hands balling into fists.

The man laughs. "Don't do anything stupid now, son."

Charlie swings at the man. He directly hits the man right between the eyes. The bearded man stumbles back before raising his gun and pulling the trigger. Charlie falls to his knees, realizing the agonizing pain in his stomach. He falls onto his back and hears Claire's voice. The bearded man grabs Claire by the arms and hauls her into the woods.

"NO!! CHARLIE!! LET ME GO!! CHARLIIEEE!!" Claire's screams enter Charlie's ears.

His world blurs in and out of focus. His head felt wobbly and he felt the color drain from his cheeks.

"Claire...?" he mutters softly before his world smashes to black.


	2. Little Bit Longer

Charlie's eyes slowly open. Everything is blury. He sees people rushing around him and screams before a familiar voice enters his ears. It's Jack. Charlie closes his eyes and lays back down. Charlie passes out soon after. He feels pain; searing pain burning throughout his stomach. Every breath he took felt like a sharp knife was jutting into him. Luckily, since he was asleep, he would not remember this pain. Charlie wakes up, opens his eyes, and sees Jack's bloodied hands stitching up his stomach. Charlie leans over and vomits up all he had eaten.

Hours later, Charlie fully comes to. He opens his eyes. At first, everything is a blur, but steadily his vision comes into focus. He attempts to sit up, but his stomach screams in pain. Charlie flops back onto his back, taking a deep breath. There is a water bottle at the side of his bed and Charlie reaches for it.

"Here," Jack's voice appears beside him.

Charlie looks at Jack and realizes that Jack's arm has a tube from it, a maroon liquid flowing through it. Charlie looks at his arm and sees that is what the tube is attatched to. Charlie takes the water and takes a few drinks. He wipes his mouth, handing the bottle back to Jack. The doctor silently takes it. They share a friendly smile.

"You had lost quite a bit of blood. It's a good thing you weren't too far from the main camp..." Jack mutters.

"Mmm," Charlie hums.

Jack nods, setting aside the water. "Any pain?" he asks.

"Uhm, my stomach hurts whenever I move...That's it..." Charlie hoarsley croaks.

Jack hands him the water bottle again. "That's normal. You won't be able to move fully for at least four days." Jack tells Charlie.

"Did you...Did you find Claire?" Charlie asks hesitantly.

Jack looks at the ground, purses his lips, and shakes his head. "No," he murmurs.

Charlie looks away, nodding.

"Well..." Jack begins, detatching the transfusion. He lets the last of the blood trickle into Charlie before taking out Charlie's needle. "That's done. You're just going to have to stay here a little bit longer. And you'll be fine."

Charlie barely nods. He didn't want to talk and risk Jack seeing his tears.

Jack places a hand on Charlie's shoulder. "We'll find Claire. Don't worry." he reasures his friend.

Charlie nods, turning away from the doctor. Jack takes the hint. He sets aside the transfusion tube and quietly exits the tent. He sees Kate approaching and barely smiles dispite his low feeling. Kate and Jack begin walking down the shoreline. Jack is silent as Kate informs him about the berries and fruits she had picked. Finally, they come to a stop. Jack takes a seat first. Kate sits beside him, wrapping her arms around her knees.

"You worried about Claire?" Kate asks.

Jack nods. "And Charlie." he adds.

Kate sighs, "Yeah, I'm sure Sayid and Sawyer will find her...It should be easy."

"I just wish I could have helped more."

"You did all you could do. You saved Charlie, which looked almost impossible. But you did it." Kate smiles.

Jack nods silently, looking at the waves roll in.

"You can't fix everybody at once, Jack." she mutters.

"I know...I just wish I could." Jack sighs regretfully.

Later in the day, Hurley enters Jack's medical tent. He tries to be quiet. He looks at Charlie. The British man is asleep on the cot. The front of Charlie's t-shirt was covered in dried blood. Hurley nearly faints. He closes his eyes, taking a deep breath before sitting in the chair beside Charlie's cot. Hurley wrings his hands together worriedly. He gazes at the sand beneath his feet before looking back at Charlie. Hurley lets a few tears slip down his face.

"Don't die, dude...'Cuz that would really suck after all that's been happening." Hurley sobs.

Charlie hears the Californian's voice and yawns deeply before opening his blue grey eyes. "I'm not gonna die. But thank you for that positive look on my situation." Charlie grins groggily up at Hurley.

"Dude! I thought you were in a coma!!" Hurley exclaims hugging Charlie.

"Ow." Charlie utters when Hurley hugs him too hard. He hugs his friend back.

"So, are you feeling okay?" Hurley asks, sitting back down.

Charlie nods. "Except for the fact that Claire is still gone...Yeah."

"Good...At least you don't feel horrible," Hurley smiles briefly.

"Hey, how's Aaron? Who's taking care of him? Is he okay?" Charlie asks, worried that they had forgotten the baby.

Hurley chuckles. "He's fine, man. Sun's looking after him. Don't worry."

"Okay, have Sayid and Sawyer come back yet?"

"Not that I know of,"

"Oh,"

"B-But they'll probably be back real soon with Claire." Hurley adds, sensing his friend's distress.

"Yeah, probably." Charlie utters with disbelief.

Hurley rises to his feet and quietly exits.

Charlie looks after Hurley before covering his face with his hands. He sobs quietly, tears pouring from his eyes. He couldn't believe that he had just _let _that man take Claire. Charlie's shoulders shake from his sobs. Tears form rivers down his cheeks, trailing down his dingy face. He cries until his sobs change to form hiccups and dry coughs. He wipes his eyes of their tears. Charlie closes his eyes and falls into a restless sleep.

He dreams he is running through the trees, screaming Claire's name. Every few seconds, he thinks he sees her, but then, she's gone. He screams he name over and over. Suddenly, the man with the beard comes out and shoots him in the stomach again. Charlie sees Claire and screams her name one more time.

"CLAIRE!!"

Charlie wakes up with a jolt. He feels sweat on his brow. Charlie sees that there is sweat drenching his whole body. He lays his head back on the bed.

"We have to save her..." Charlie mutters to no one in particular before falling asleep.


	3. The Search

In three days, Charlie is up and walking again. Sayid and Sawyer had come back after one day without Claire. It hadn't shocked Charlie all that much. Somehow he had known they would not find her. This made him even more determined, though. Charlie slowly and painfully sits in the sand, pulling his knees up to his chest.

"Hey, man. Still bummed?" Hurley asks as he approaches his friend.

Charlie looks up at Charlie with a nod. "Claire still isn't here. What do you think?" Charlie sourly utters.

Hurley sits beside Charlie with a grunt. "Yeah, well, Jack and Sayid went out to look an hour ago." he states.

"Yeah, I know. I just wish I could do something to help." Charlie murmurs.

"Yeah, well, you were shot, man."

"Really? I didn't notice." Charlie sarcastically says.

Hurley barely smiles. "You're starting to sound like Sawyer." he teases.

Charlie nods, fiddling with his bracelet. "Hurley?"

"Yeah?"

"What if they don't find her?" Charlie asks, looking the man in the eyes.

Hurley sighs, "They'll find her."

Charlie purses his lips and looks back out over the ocean. He remains silent and still. Then, a look of determination appears on his face. He painfully pushes himself to his feet and marches back up the beach. Hurley scuttles after his friend. Charlie grabs a few water bottles and a blanket, shoving the items in his messenger bag. He grabs a couple mangos and stuffs them into the bag along with a wrapped up fish. He heads to his and Claire's tent. Hurley hurries to catch up.

"Dude? Dude?" Hurley asks Charlie.

Charlie ignores Hurley and shoves a couple shirts into the bag.

"What're you doing?" Hurley worries.

"I'm going after her." Charlie states.

"No. No, no, no, no." Hurley stammers. "What if Jack and them found her?"

"They didn't." Charlie sighs with frustration.

"How do you know that?!" Hurley exclaims.

Charlie points down the beach. Jack and Sayid were walking up the beach alone. Claire was nowhere in sight. Hurley looks at Charlie and sees the Brit loading a pistol. Charlie sticks the gun in his pants, concealing it with his t-shirt.

"JACK! JA--" Hurley starts to yell.

Charlie covers the large man's mouth. "Do NOT tell Jack. Not until I'm gone, at least." Charlie orders. "Give me an hour, then tell him."

Hurley slowly nods.

"Okay," Charlie smiles. He stuffs a bottle of ibuprofin into his pack before taking off into the trees.

Hurley watches Charlie disappear in the jungle's shadows. He looks back at Jack and Sayid. Hurley frowns, then, lumbers down the beach towards Jack. "JACK! JAAACK!" Hurley calls. The doctor looks up at Hurley, furrowing his brow. Hurley reaches Jack and stops to catch his breath.

"What is it, Hurley?" Jack asks as Sayid walks off.

Hurley huffs and puffs. "Charlie...He went out!" Hurley gasps.

"What?" Jack asks with confusion.

"Charlie went out after Claire. He went alone!!" Hurley states.

Jack grabs his pack and a baggie of antibiotics before racing off into the shadows of the jungle. He dodges trees and ducks under vines and low-hanging limbs. He spots Charlie about a mile ahead of him and speeds up. He sees Charlie stop and look back at him. He finally catches up to the Brit and slows to a stop beside him. Jack sighs.

"What were you thinking coming out here alone?!" Jack states.

Charlie shrugs. "That I'd find Claire."

Jack sighs, lightening up a bit. "Yeah, well, I'm coming with you. You can't go alone." he states, readjusting his pack.

Charlie grins up at Jack. "Thanks..." he says with appreciation.

Jack nods and the two begin their trek. Charlie and the doctor takes turns leading. Charlie goes wherever he thinks the Others would be. Jack walks where he sees a broken twig or any sign of a struggle. Charlie and Jack decide to take a break after walking two hours. Charlie grits his teeth as he sits down. Jack notices Charlie's pain, but doesn't say anything right away. He pulls a water bottle from his pack, offering one to the Brit. Charlie shakes his head, pulling out his own bottle. Jack nods, replacing the bottle in his bag. He guzzles down some of his water, wiping his mouth with his forearm.

"Lemme look at your gunshot to make sure it's not infected or bleeding again." Jack tells Charlie.

"M'kay."

Charlie gingerly lifts his shirt up to reveal the gunshot just below his ribcage. Jack carefully examines it, touching a small, open area. Charlie hisses in pain. Jack grabs the large baggie of medicine and rifles through it before finding the small bottle of alcohol. He drips it onto a rag and places the rag on Charlie's wound. "Augh!" Charlie winces as the alcohol burns. Jack dabs the alcohol around before bandaging it back up. He puts everything back into the bag before shoviing the bag into his back pack.

Charlie leans back against a tree and sighs. "Do you think we'll find her?" he wonders aloud.

Jack furrows his brow, looking around the jungle. "We'll find her."

After a few more minutes of resting, Charlie and Jack begin their hunt for the Others. Charlie's stomach didn't hurt as bad as usual, but all this moving was doing it no good. Every time Jack asked if he needed a break, though, Charlie would decline. He was determined to find Claire and bring her back to Aaron. Jack marches forwards; it was his turn to lead the way. Jack makes sure Charlie is behind him still and continues marching through the grass. They enter a large clearing and they both stop. Their jaws drop at the sight. Before them is a long row of tower-like things. They watch as a low flying gull flies between the towers. It immediately drops dead. They exchange a knowing look.

"The Others are beyond these." Charlie utters.

Jack nods, looking around. He spots a somewhat small tree and an idea pops into his brain. "Help me push over this tree." he states.

Soon, the have pushed over the tree so that it was propped against the tower and dangled over to the other side. Charlie and Jack look at each other nervously. This could just be a trap. They both breathe shakily.

"I'll go first." Charlie tells Jack, walking towards the tree.

"But--"

"No, if I don't make it...You find Claire for me."

Jack sighs, but weakly nods in agreement. He watches Charlie toss his bag across the "force field" onto the other side. The musician climbs up the tree slowly, but surely. He finds foothold and handholds, pulling himself up. He reaches the top and sighs. He begins to turn when his foot slips. Charlie grips tightly to the tree as his body falls. He swings very near the force field. His eyes are wide, like a deer in the headlights. His hands begin to sweat and he shoots Jack a terrified glance. He tries to swing back onto the tree, but he comes dangerously close to swinging between the towers. Charlie waits until the swing is away from the tower and releases his grip. He goes plummeting backwards, away from the towers. He lands in soft, green grass and falls back into it, laughing with glee. Jack sighs with relief and tosses his bag across. Then, Jack pulls himself onto the tree and climbs over the tower.

Charlie and Jack walk a few more hours before setting camp. The sun sets and soon, darkness surrounds them. Charlie lies awake for a few minutes, staring up at the stars. Thinking about Claire. Jack knows Charlie is awake and breathes out a breath of sadness for his friend. He could hardly imagine losing Kate to the Others for a week.

"Charlie," Jack begins.

"Yeah, mate?" Charlie murmurs in response.

"We'll find her. I know we're close. Don't worry." Jack finishes truthfully.

"Thanks," Charlie yawns.

"For what?"

"For coming with me. For being a good friend." Charlie sleepily responds.

Jack gets comfortable and yawns. "Welcome."

Charlie is asleep in a split second.

The next morning, Charlie swallows a pain pill before eating a mango and the fish he had packed. He and Jack finish the fish before gathering their things. Jack and Charlie pull on their bags before setting off. They wander aimlessly for an hour. Charlie is leading when he hears laughter. He freezes, as does Jack. They listen carefully and sneak up to the sound of laughter. Jack and Charlie creep towards some shrubbary and peer through the leaves. Charlie gasps. Beyond the leaves, there was a community of yellow houses. Jack's jaw drops. Charlie sees a familiar-looking man. His fists clench when he realizes who it is. Although he was clean-shaven, Charlie knew. That was the man that took Claire.

Jack sees Charlie glaring at the man and asks under his breath, "Is that him?"

Charlie nods.

"We'll wait until night, then, we'll get Claire." the doctor whispers.


	4. The Bookshelf

Charlie watches as the last glimmer of sunlight disappears from the sky. Then, he waits as the last of the Others wander into their homes, waving and smiling. Jack taps Charlie on the shoulder and nods; they were going. Charlie creeps out of the brush, trying not to rustle the leaves too much. Jack is right behind him. Charlie stays low to the ground as he creeps towards the center of the village. Jack takes the lead, glancing around warily. He sees a large house, that he assumes is the leader's home. Ben's house. Charlie follows Jack towards the house, being cautious and quiet. Jack reaches for the doorknob.

"Jack, don't you think it'll be locked?" Charlie whispers.

Jack shrugs and slowly twists the knob around. The door silently opens. "Guess they weren't expecting us." Jack says under his breath.

Charlie listens hard and hears a loud scream. "Wait. Listen." Charlie tells Jack.

Jack listens intently and in hears yells. Not from in Ben's house, though. Charlie races off in the direction of the shouts and suddenly, a man steps out in front of him. Jack stops, he knew who it was. The man smiles up at Charlie. Charlie glowers down at him before tackling him to the ground.

"Where is she?" Charlie grumbles. pinning the Other down.

"Easy, Charlie, one yell from me alerts all my people." the man states with a smirk.

Charlie pulls out his gun, holding it to the man's forehead. "And one gunshot does, too. I assure you, if you don't go back home and go back to sleep, it won't be your scream that alerts your people." Charlie threatens.

"Okay, okay, just let me up." the man mutters, he sees Jack and grins politely. "Jack. How are you?"

"Shut up, Ben. Where is Claire?" Jack hisses.

Ben sighs and glances at the gun still pointed at his head. "She's in the last house. Down that way." Ben points.

"Go home." Charlie growls.

Ben nods and starts slowly heading into his house. Charlie keeps his pistol pointed at the man's back. Ben enters his house and shuts the door. Charlie sticks the gun back in his pants. Jack claps a hand on Charlie's shoulder. "C'mon," Jack utters. Charlie takes a deep breath and nods. They race off in the direction Ben had pointed them in. They spot the last building and hear the screams growing louder. Charlie gains momentum, passing Jack. Jack watches Charlie sprint to the house. Charlie waits on the doctor before opening the door. Charlie throws it open and the screams immediately stops. Charlie and Jack enter the house and fumble to find a light switch. Jack does and flips on the lights. Charlie is already down the hall.

"Claire?" Charlie calls in a voice barely above a whisper.

There is no noise from the house. Charlie's hair clings to his forehead and he opens a bedroom door. No Claire. Jack checks the broom closet, but Claire wasn't in there either. Charlie pads through the house and calls Claire's name again. He listens and hears someone crying and heads in that direction. He hears the crying coming from a door on his right and heads towards it. Charlie turns the lock and opens the door to a dark room. The crying immediately stops and Charlie jumps when Claire screams again.

"Go away!!" she yells.

Charlie fumbles to find the light switch. "Claire, calm down! It's me." Charlie states quietly.

He finds the light switch and clicks it on. Light fills the room. Charlie sees Claire's wrists are tied to a tall pipe on the wall; it was so tall, she had to tip-toe. She stares at Charlie in disbelief.

"Charlie?" she mutters.

"Hey," Charlie smiles briefly before digging in his pack. He pulls out a knife before approaching Claire. She watches as Charlie tip-toes and begins cutting away at the ropes binding her wrists together. He winces at the pain in his stomach, but continues sawing at the ropes. Claire is finally freed by him. Jack enters the room. Claire smiles at him. Charlie turns and grins, too.

"They're coming." Jack warns.

Charlie grabs Claire by the hand and the race out of the room. Charlie shuts and locks the door again before they hear voices outside the front door. Charlie freezes and backs up into the bookshelf. It scoots a little, revealing an opening. "JACK!" Charlie calls, beginning to push the shelf over. Jack races to his aid and they soon have and opening big enough to squeeze through. Claire enters followed by Jack and Charlie. Charlie and Jack grab the hand hold on the back of the bookshelf and scoot it over just in time. They back up in the secret room and hear voices yelling and shouting on the other side of the bookshelf. Charlie wraps an arm protectively around Claire. A loud man's voice echoes through the house and Claire buries her head in Charlie's shoulder. Charlie wraps his hands around her, running his fingers through her hair. A loud thump comes from the bookshelf and they all tense up in fear. Charlie, Claire, and Jack press themselves against the back of the room. Jack feels his heart pounding from the sheer terror. He hides his fear with bravado. Jack had gotten skilled at hiding his fear.

"They've escaped!" the loud voice shouts angrily.

The people's voices fade and Jack hears the click of the door being closed. Claire looks at the bookshelf tentatively. She parts from Charlie and watches as he approaches the shelf. Jack is close behind him. Claire lingers at the back of the room. Charlie and Jack grab the bookshelf and scoot it over. Charlie edges his way out, but turns back to stop Jack.

"Stay here with Claire. I'll make sure it's safe." Charlie utters.

"No, I'm coming." Jack demands.

"Jack, we can't just leave her! Let me go."

Jack sighs. "You stay with Claire. I'll go look."

Charlie nods and reenters the secret room. Jack slips out before closing Charlie and Claire in. Charlie walks to the back of the room, setting his pack down. Claire sees the lightswitch dangling from the ceiling and pulls it down. The dark room is lit up immediately. They see there is a table to the right with two chairs. They head over to it and sit down. Charlie sits slowly and carefully, wincing at the pain in his stomach. It was actually hurting more than it had been. Claire notices his pain and worriedly looks at Charlie.

"Are you okay?" she asks quietly.

"Oh, yeah...fine." Charlie lies, clutching his stomach.

Claire scoots over the be in front of him. She takes his hands from his stomach and sees blood seeping through his t-shirt. "Oh, no..." she whispers.

Charlie sees the blood and smiles at Claire. "It's finer...Just a stitch come loose...That's all." he tells her. His head throbs from the pain. He moans in pain.

"What?! WHat's wrong?!" Claire worries, holding his hands in hers tightly.

"It hurts...Oh, bloody hell..." Charlie groans. He feels his world spin.

"Lay down." Claire tells him.

She helps him out of his chair. Then, Claire lowers Charlie to the ground. Charlie smiles up at her. She barely kisses his forehead before lifting his shirt off the wound. Claire grimaces; she had not thought it was that bad. His bandages were sopping wet with his blood. Suddenly, the bookshelf moves. Claire freezes and Charlie pulls out his gun weakly. Jack is the one at the entrance. He races in after closing the "door" again. Jack sees Charlie and immediately races into the room.

"What happened?" Jack asks either of them.

"He just was bleeding agin." Claire tells Jack.

"Any pain?" Jack asks Charlie.

"My stomach hurts and my head hurts, too." Charlie tells Jack.

Jack nods, taking off his back pack and pulls out the medical baggie. He unwraps Charlie's soiled bandages, exposing his wound. Claire gasps when she sees it. Charlie holds her hand with a half-hearted smile. Jack sets aside the bandages and pulls out a rag. He pours a bottle of water onto it and begins to clean Charlie's wound. Charlie winces, clutching Claire's hand. Claire brings his hand to her lips and kisses it. Jack sets aside the rag and sighs.

"It's infected and ripping open. I need to operate..." he says.

"Then, operate." Claire pleads.

"Without the proper tools?" Jack says with frustration. "That would be impossible..."

"What are we gonna do?" Claire asks, looking into Charlie's eyes.

Jack sighs. "I have a plan. Charlie, give Claire your gun."

Charlie lifts the pistol to Claire.

"Why do I need this?" Claire wonders aloud.

"Well, here's my plan..." Jack begins.


	5. So Close

Claire sticks the gun in her pants and helps Jack scoot the bookshelf over. He lifts Charlie to his feet. The Brit staggers out with Jack's help. Claire walks out after them. Jack leads Charlie outside; the sun was barely peeking over the horizon. Jack helps Charlie walk through Otherville. Ben spots them through his window and radios Tom. Charlie feels light-headed as Jack pulls him through the village. He can barely keep his head up. Soon, Jack has to lift Charlieand carry him swiftly through the town. An Other leap out in front of them and glares.

"Where do you think--" he begins.

Claire shoots him in the shoulder. The man yells, falling to his knees. Jack and Claire pass him. Soon, Jack reaches a large building and Claire opens the door for him. Jack carries Charlie down the hallway and into the operating room. Charlie moans as he is laid on the operating table. Jack washes his hands and pulls on a face mask and hair net. Claire pulls her blonde hair into a bun and puts on a hair net. Then, she washes her hands.

"Hello, Jack. Claire." a voice startles them.

Claire grabs her gun and spins around to see Ben in the doorway. She keeps it aimed at him.

"Let us operate, Ben." Jack demands.

"Why should I let you?" Ben asks.

"Because I saved your life. And because Claire will kill you if you don't." Jack states.

Ben looks at the pistol. "Good point." he monotonously says in response.

Tom and Juliet come into the room. They stop upon seeing their leader at gunpoint.

"Juliet, help me." Jack pleads with his friend.

She looks at Charlie and nods. Juliet prepares for operation.

"Now, Ben and Tom," Jack growls, "leave me to operate."

Ben smiles wickedly. "I'll let you operate, Jack. But without anesthesia." he cackles.

"No." Jack yells.

"Those are my terms." Ben threatens.

Jack scowls. Ben exits the operation room. Claire looks after him before racing up to Jack.

"What?! What does that mean?!" she yelps.

Jack sighs, "It means we won't be able to knock Charlie out for the surgery...He's gonna hafta be awake."

"What?! No! That'll hurt." Claire states worriedly.

"Claire," Charlie calls.

Claire keeps going, not hearing Charlie. "Why can't we just _talk _to Ben?! That IDIOT!" Claire grumbles.

Charlie takes Claire by her hand. "Claire," he calls again.

She stops.

"I'll be fine. I promise." he tells her bravely.

"Okay," she sighs.

Jack and Juliet stand aside, watching quietly. Claire slips away to take a seat in the corner. Jack and Juliet get out the tools and antibiotics they would need. Juliet hooks him up to a blood transfusion and a bag containing A negative blood(the Others knew the survivors' blood types). They take off Charlie's shirt and he closes his eyes, praying silently. Jack takes a deep breath. He and Juliet look at each other worriedly, then, down at Charlie. Charlie opens his eyes and sees Jack and Juliet looking at him. Charlie tries to relax, but cannot under the circumstances. He meets Jack's gaze.

"Ready?" Jack asks.

Charlie barely nods.

Jack begins instructing Juliet and they begin to operate. Charlie grimaces as the first cut is made. Soon, screams escape his lips. Claire cries quietly in her corner. Jack and Juliet see that there is still a piece of the bullet in Charlie and they work to cut it out. Charlie screams out of pain, tears rolling down his dirty cheeks. Soon, he passes out from the pain. This makes Jack and Juliet's work a bit easier. Even though he is unconscious, though, he still screams from the pain. Charlie is conscious again after twenty minutes. He whimpers and tries to remain still and quiet. Juliet and Jack work hard to fight the infection. They work hard, sweat on their brows. Charlie is in agonizing pain. A scream is ripped from his very soul by the horrible hurt. Pain fills his body like a poison. He can't move. He cannot stop the pain. More tears trickle down his face. He wants it to be over; to end. Charlie's head throbs due to the pain and he blacks out once more.

After an hour and a half, Jack and Juliet begin stitching Charlie back up. They disinfect the stitches, then wrap his wound with clean bandages. Juliet unhooks him from the transfusion with a sigh. She and Jack clean the medical equipment and put it away. Jack walks over to Claire. She had stopped crying a half hour ago. He pulls his face mask down so it hung around his neck. She looks up at him, wiping her puffy eyes.

"He'll be fine." Jack simply says.

Claire nods, hugging Jack tightly. "Thank you." she tells the doctor.

"Welcome," he responds, hugging her back.

Claire stands up, sticking her pistol in her back pocket. "When'll he wake up?" she asks.

Jack shrugs. "I don't know. If he was on anesthesia, I could tell you. Since he is passed out, probably half an hour?" Jack guesses.

"Oh, okay," she replies.

Juliet walks over to the two of them. "Hey, Claire, I'm Juliet," she introduces herself.

"Hey," Claire grins back, shaking hands with the woman. "Thanks for helping with Charlie."

Juliet shakes her head. "No problem," she utters, hugging Claire briefly.

Jack takes a seat against the wall, pulling off his hair net and face mask. Juliet takes a seat beside him. Claire looks at Charlie and shifts from one foot to the other. She wants to sit down beside Jack and Juliet, but feels the need to go to Charlie. To care for him. Claire looks up at the ceiling and gasps when she sees Ben glaring down at them through a large glass panel.

"What is it?" Jack asks, rising to his feet.

"It's Ben!" Claire states, pointing to where the Other was watching.

Jack furrows his brow, remembering when Tom stood up there and watched him work on Ben. He sees the Other speak into his walkie talkie. Then, Ben walks off. Jack shrugs, sitting back against the wall, his own pistol in hand. Just in case. Claire pulls a chair over to Charlie's bedside. She takes his hand in her hand, gripping it tightly. She looks at his face, the stillness of his body. The slight rise and fall of his chest was the only sign that he was alive. Claire begins to cry all over again. She looks from his bandaged stomach to his closed eyes. She lets tears spill down her cheeks, dripping onto the floor.

"This is my fault. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Claire quietly sobs to the Brit.

Jack and Juliet exchange saddened glances, the couple had been so close to getting free and being happy.

Claire cries softly, her head in her hands. Her shoulders shake and she buries her face in her hands. She almost doesn't feel the hand on her shoulder. She sucks up her tears, expecting it to be either Jack or Juliet. Opening her blue eyes and raising her head, Claire freezes in shock. Two blue eyes were staring back into hers. She wraps her arms around him, hugging him tightly. Charlie hugs her back carefully. When Claire pulls away, Charlie gives her his lopsided smile. It melts her heart.

"Are you alright?" Claire asks.

"Fine. As long as you're okay, I'll be fine." Charlie whispers.

He cups her face in his hand, bringing it inches from his face. He presses his lips to hers. Claire holds either side of Charlie's face in her hands. Charlie touches her elbow lightly with his other hand. She barely deepens the kiss and he sighs into her. Slowly, they part. Charlie's eyes flit open and he gazes into Claire's. She barely kisses him again on the lips. Charlie feels light-headed, but not from his wound this time. He kisses Claire again, never wanting the moment to end. He holds her close, barely deepening the kiss. Claire smiles when she hears Charlie humming. Charlie smiles, too, but kisses her. Suddenly, the door slams open.

"For Pete's sake you two! Seperate!" Ben's voice startles Charlie and Claire.

They break apart and blush noticeably.

"And, Charlie, put your shirt on." Ben tosses Charlie's bloody tee at him. Charlie pulls on his shirt.

"What do you want, Ben?" Jack asks, standing.

Ben sighs. "I feel just terrible saying this, but a few of my people don't like the idea of you here." Ben says.

"You want us to leave? Okay, we're gone." Charlie states with a smile, rising off the cot shakily.

"Oh, no. You misunderstood me, Charles." Ben chuckles. "We want THEM to leave."

Ben makes a sweeping gesture over Claire, Juliet, and Jack. Charlie doesn't catch what Ben is hinting at. Everyone looks at Ben with confusion.

"Charles, your friends can leave, but you...You're staying with us." Ben calmly tells him.

"No, we will not let you--" Jack begins.

"It's either him or ALL of you." Ben shrugs. "I don't really care."


	6. Prisoners of Love

Claire looks at Charlie pleadingly. He nods at what Ben has stated. Ben lets a knowing grin briefly appear on his face. In a flash, it is gone and he's staring Jack down again. Jack is under pressure; he either stays here and risks ALL of their lives or leaves Charlie. Juliet frets, wringing her hands together.

"You know, you guys can go..." Charlie utters, his eyes downcast.

"No, you _aren't_ staying behind!" Claire states with determination.

Ben sighs, glancing at his watch. "Jack, why don't you, _as the leader_, make the decision?" Ben smirks.

"Shut up, Ben." Jack snarls, reaching for his gun.

Ben rolls his eyes as Jack raises his pistol. "Jack, turn around," Ben states.

Jack and Juliet look back, Tom and five Others are blocking the doorway. Jack places his pistol back in his pants. Then, he turns his gaze to Claire. She shakes her head, knowing what Jack was going to say.

Juliet looks at Claire and states, "We have to go."

"Claire, we have to--" Jack begins.

"No, we're not leaving him." Claire sobs, clutching Charlie's hand in her own.

"Claire, you have to leave me." Charlie tells her.

"I'm not leaving you. Never." Claire exclaims, looking him in the eyes.

"Claire," Jack pulls Claire aside. He whispers, "I'll come back for him. I promise."

Claire jerks away. "I'm not leaving him, Jack. He's gotta come with us." she protests.

"All right, all right!"

Everyone turns to look at Ben.

"I'll take the two for one deal." he finishes. "Even though it's not as convenient." he mutters under his breath.

"No, you will NOT take them both." Jack yells.

"Then, we'll do this the hard way." Ben grumbles.

Tom and the five Others pull sacks over Charlie, Claire, Jack and Juliet's heads. Then, They all inject their hostages with a drug. The four are soon unconscious. Tom and another man take Charlie and Claire one way while Jack and Juliet are dragged out another door. Ben stands in the middle of the room, smiling to himself before heading back home to catch up on his sleep.

Charlie and Claire come into consciousness in a shower. Water is pouring down on them. Charlie coughs, scrambling to his feet. Claire stands up beside him. They glance around in shock before they see Tom, the man that shot Charlie. He smiles at them, waving. Charlie glares at the big man.

"Hey, ya'll," Tom states.

"What do you want?!" Charlie growls acidly.

Tom chuckles, saying, "Well, I just brought you two here to shower and change."

"We aren't showering in front of you." Charlie folds his arms.

"Don't worry, neither of you are my type. But you two should shower and change." Tom laughs, walking out and locking the door.

Charlie looks at Claire.

"A shower does sound nice." she mutters.

"Yeah, we'll take turns. You can go first." Charlie smiles.

Claire nods. "Thanks,"

Charlie smiles before walking off. He looks around the rest of the area. There were many lockers and showers, but every other shower he tried did not work. He shrugs and continues looking around. He spots two opened lockers and approaches them. Inside one is a blue dress and flats. In the other locker, there is a white button up shirt, tie, shoes, and slacks. He frowns. He tries looking in the other lockers, but they are all either locked or empty. He takes a seat on a bench and waits for Claire. She comes out in a towel.

"Your clothes are in that locker," Charlie tells her.

"Oh, okay..." she sighs.

Charlie enters the shower and strips off his bloody clothes. He sees there is a bar of soap, shampoo, and conditioner. He washes himself and his hair. He finally turns off the shower and pulls a towel around his waist. He walks out of the shower to his locker. He takes his clothes into another shower before changing into them. He slips on his black tennis shoes and walks out of the shower area, trying to get the tie on right. Claire smiles at him before offering to help with his tie. She fixes it before straightening it.

"Is it too tight?" she asks.

"No, it's good, thank you." Charlie responds.

"Welcome," Claire sadly states, sitting on a bench.

Charlie sits beside her. "You know, you look really pretty." Charlie tries to lighten the mood.

Claire blushes and says, "Thank you...And you clean up really nice."

"Really? I didn't have time to shave." he jokes.

Claire laughs, dispite their situation. Charlie giggles lightly along with her. He is glad he was able to make her smile. Suddenly, they hear the door's lock clicking. The door opens and Tom steps into the room. He looks at them before grabbing Claire by the elbow and Charlie by the arm. He leads them out of the shower building and down a winding sidewalk. The two stumble after the large man. They exchange curious looks upon seeing a small table set for three. Tom thrusts them each into a seat. Then, Ben appears and takes the final seat. Tom walks a few feet away from the table. Charlie and Claire get nervous upon seeing two pair of handcuffs--each one at their seats.

Charlie slouches in his seat. Claire shifts uncomfortably. Ben sets his napkin in his lap.

"I'm sorry, but I'm gonna have to ask you to put those on." Ben calmly says.

"And if we don't?" Charlie threatens, chomping down on a strawberry from his plate.

"You won't get any coffee." Ben states.

Charlie and Claire clip on their handcuffs. "Tighter." Ben says. So, Charlie and Claire tighten them so that they can't get out.

"Can we wear our regular clothes?" Charlie rudely asks.

"Sorry, we burned them." Ben responds, eating a bite of his eggs.

Claire shifts uncomfortably. "Why did you bring us here to eat? And why do we have to wear this?" she asks harshly.

Ben sets down his fork and swallows the food in his mouth. "I brought you here so that the ocean would put you two at ease. I dressed you like that so that you would feel like a man and a woman. I'm giving you breakfast so that you will get to hold onto one good memory. Because the next two weeeks will not be pleasant." Ben growls.

Claire shrinks in her seat.

"And, besides, you can think of this as a date." Ben adds lightly.

Ben waves his hand. Tom approaches, taking Charlie and Claire by their arms and pulling bags over their heads. At first, the couple struggles. Tom overpowers them, though. They are led over rough terrain before the bags are ripped from their faces. Tom unlocks their cuffs before shoving them into seperate cages. Claire falls forwards, ripping the bottom of her dress on a rock. Charlie falls onto his knees. They hear the cage doors close and Tom locks them.

A half hour later, Charlie is rattling his cage door. Charlie glares at the cameras that were pointed at both his and Claire's cage. Claire stands quietly in her cage, listening to Charlie's cage door rattle. Finally, Charlie gives up and falls to a seat. Claire looks up at him. She walks up to the bars of her cage and peers through them. Charlie looks through his at Claire, standing.

"So, what are you in for?" he jokes half-heartedly.

Claire barely smiles. "Do you always have to joke around?" she asks.

"Yeah,"

"I'm serious."

"So am I."

Claire sighs. "I want to go back to the beach." she murmurs.

"Well, you shouldn't have come with me." Charlie tells her.

"I wasn't just going to leave you!" Claire yells.

"You bloody should have! Then, you wouldn't be in this mess!"

"You are in this mess, too!!" Claire snaps back.

"That's different!" Charlie spits angrily.

"HOW?!"  
"BECAUSE I LOVE YOU!" Charlie yells back, not realizing what he had said until the words came out of his mouth.

Silence fills the area. Even the birds seem to grow quiet. Claire's mouth opens like she is about to say something, but no words come out. Charlie fidgets with his tie and stares at the ground coyly. The moment awkwardly passes. Claire looks at Charlie with shock.

"What?" she barely whispers, breaking the silence.

Charlie sighs. "I...love you." he murmurs, eyes averted.

Claire quietly nods. "Oh, um, okay..." is all she can choke out.

"Okay," Charlie mutters back, feeling rejected.

He turns around in his cage, his back to Claire and takes in his surroundings. There is a large, faded button with the picture of a fork and knife on it. Charlie raises his eyebrow and presses the button. "Warning." a garbled recording echoes through the area. Charlie presses the button again. "Warning." The loud voice repeats.

"Charlie, maybe you shouldn't press that." Claire calls.

Charlie reaches for the bvutton again despite her warning. The moment he pushes it in, electricity flows through his body and it sends him flying backwards. His back hits the bars of the cage and he has to catch his breath. He coughs before painfully standing again.

"Are you alright?" Claire asks.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Charlie responds.

Charlie sees all the levers and an idea comes into his mind. After a few minutes and two large rocks, Charlie has all the levers and buttons pushed. Finally, he reaches for the 'warning' button. Claire flinches as he presses it. Instead of the recording, old, music fills the air. Water pours into one container while grains and a fish-shaped biscuit falls into another. Charlie tries to eat some grains, but spits them out with a gag. He sees the fish biscuit and bites off the tip. He shrugs, it tastes alright. Walking over to the bars, Charlie looks at Claire.

"Here you go." Charlie tells Claire, tossing the fish biscuit across to her.

She catches it last minute. "Thanks," she smiles, taking a bite of it.

Charlie nods before heading over to his water. He scoops it into his hands and lifts it to his lips. He quenches his thirst. Tom suddenly comes down towards their cages. Charlie frowns and Claire glowers at her kidnapper. Tom nods at Claire before turning to Charlie.

"I see you got her a fish biscuit." Tom smirks.

"Yup. I figured out your machines." Charlie states, crossing his arms.

Tom nods before saying, "It only took the bears ten minutes." as he walks off.

"Well, how many bears WERE there?" Charlie yells after him.

That night, Charlie falls into a restless sleep.At around dawn, Charlie slowly wakes up on the cold earth. He stares at the sky through the bars and wonders if he would ever get out. A thud grabs his attention and he shoots up and looks over at Claire's cage where the sound came from. Outside of the cage, he sees a a woman. She is sneaking towards his cage. He sees it is Claire. He scrambles to his feet. He grabs the bars and stares through at her.

"Are you insane?" he whispers, eyes darting towards the cameras. "They're going to catch you!"

Claire shakes her head. "No, they won't." she utters under her breath.

"How did you even get out?" Charlie asks.

Claire smiles before saying, "I climbed."

"You're like a bloody monkey!" Charlie laughs.

Claire giggles before grabbing his cage. Suddenly a cough echoes through the clearing. Charlie whips his head around, Claire looks and freezes upon seeing the man. It was Pickett. And he does not look happy.


	7. Beaten

Pickett marches towards Claire and grabs her arm, harshly dragging her back towards her cage. Claire falls after him, scraping up her knees. "Easy." Charlie growls at Pickett. Pickett ignores Charlie's warning and unlocks Claire's cage. Claire tries to pull free, but Pickett jerks her back. She glowers at him. Pickett back hands her before throwing her into her cage.Charlie angrily rattles his cage door.

Pickett glances at Charlie with interest. He slams Claire's cage door shut and locks it. He walks over to Charlie's cage and comes inches from Charlie's face. Charlie glares at Pickett.

"You, uh, got a problem?" Picket asks.

Charlie squares his shoulders. "Actually, yeah, I do." he grumbles.

"Let's settle it, then." Pickett calmly states, unlocking Charlie's cage door.

"Wha...?" Charlie asks with confusion.

Pickett grabs Charlie by the shoulder and drags him out of his cage. He tosses the Brit to the ground. Charlie lays stunned momentarily before he gets back up. Pickett punches Charlie in the face. Charlie reels back. He swings at Pickett, but the Other ducks. Charlie is hit again in the gut and he doubles over with a groan. Pickett takes this opportunity to kick Charlie in the face. Charlie falls back and holds his bleeding head. Pickett grabs Charlie's shoulder again and stands him upright. Pickett hisses like a coiled snake, then springs at Charlie. The Other grabs Charlie by the shoulders and throws him into Claire's cage. Charlie yelps as his back slams against the bars. He weakly falls to his knees. Claire cries out in horror and reaches through to hold onto Charlie. Pickett hits Charlie six more times. Charlie is so beaten and battered, he can barely hold up his head.

"Do you love him?" Pickett snarls, looking at Claire.

Pickett winds up his arm and punches Charlie in the side of the head. Charlie moans in pain.

"What?" she asks, shocked.

"Do you love him?" Pickett repeats louder.

Pickett sends his fist flying into Charlie's stomach. Charlie coughs, body shaking.

"I..I don't kno--"

"Do you love him?!" Pickett yells as he raises his fist.

"Why are you asking me tha--"

"DO!" Pickett screams.

Charlie is hit hard on the right side of his face.

"YOU!!"

Charlie is sucker punched on his left.

"LOVE!!"

Pickett beats Charlie in the face once more.

"HIM?!" Pickett screams hitting Charlie again.

Claire reaches out and wraps her arms around Charlie's body protectively. "YES! YES, I LOVE HIM!" she sobs loudly.

Pickett lowers his fist and barely nods to what Claire had yelled. Charlie breathes a sigh of gratitue and his body goes limp from the pain. Claire tries to stop her crying, but she cannot stop tears from falling down her cheeks. Pickett breathes heavily before slowly backing away.

"Lock him up," Pickett wearily breathes to an Other.

Charlie's head falls limply against his chest. Claire continues to sob and hold onto Charlie.

Charlie's eyes flutter open to see the bars of his cage above him. It is dusk and the clouds are beginning to roll in. He blinks to focus his eyes before groaning at the aching pain his whole body was in. He rolls onto his side and sits up shakily. He looks across the opening to see Claire sitting, her back to him, crying silently. Charlie pulls himself to his feet and walks up to the bars. He grabs the cages bars and peers his face between two of them. "Hey," he coarsely utters at Claire. She turns aropund swiftly and races to the bars of her cage. Her smile lights up the whole area.

"Are you okay?" she askes with a sniffle.

Charlie shrugs, but winces at the slight pain in his back. "I'm fine...How 'bout you?"

"...Good." Claire replies softly.

Charlie nods breaking their eye contact. Staring at the ground, he mutters, "Did you...say that you loved me?"

"Yeah. I did." she sniffles at him.

"Well, do you?"

"Do I what?"

Charlie shuffles, asking, "Love me...?"

"Oh..." Claire thinks a few seconds, then admits, "Yeah, I do."

Charlie looks back up at her and blushes. They both giggle lightly. Claire looks at Charlie's cut lip and bloody head and just wants to take care of him. She reaches her hand out for his cage and sighs.

"Are you sure you're alright?" she asks.

"I'm fine, Claire. Although, an ibuprofin would be nice." he jokes.

Claire nods with a chuckle. "I want to get back to the beach," she murmurs.

"We'll get back. We just need a plan."

"Any ideas?"

Suddenly, the brush outside Charlie's cage rattles. The two freeze in fear of what might be lurking in the shadows of the bushes. Claire's eyes dart from Charlie to where the noise came from. Charlie stands, ready to run or face what was coming. A thin, brunette steps out from the shrubbary. She looks at Claire and Charlie before reaching in her pockets. Charlie and Claire watch with both fear and curiosity. The girl pulls out a rusty key and looks from Charlie to Claire. She smiles at the two.

Quietly, she says, "I'm here to rescue you."


	8. You Save Me

Quietly, Alex says, "I'm here to rescue you."

"What?" Claire asks as Alex approaches her cage.

Alex unlocks the cage, saying, "I'm Alex, you probably don't remember, but I've rescued you before."

Claire pushes open her cage door and exits. "What? When?"

"When Ethan kidnapped you."

Claire's eyes widenend as she remembered. "You're Alex!!" she exclaims, hugging the teenager.

Alex briefly hugs Claire back. "Yeah, that's me." she smiles.

The two release each other and Alex approaches Charlie's cage. She fumbles with the lock in the dim light before finding the keyhole and unlocking it. Charlie walks out of his cage and hugs Claire. Alex looks on at the hug, but clears her throat. Charlie and Claire seperate to look at the girl. Alex smiles before looking over hger shoulder. "Follow me," she tells the two.

After walking many miles after Alex, Charlie and Claire feel the cool breeze of the ocean on their faces and get excited, thinking that they were at their beach--that they were home. They put an extra spring in their steps and raced towards the edge of the jungle where it met the sand. Their feet touched the soft, white sand. They looked at the vacant beach. Then, their eyes stared out across the ocean and frowned. There was another island. Charlie looked down at Claire. Their eyes met and they both had the same thought...

They were on the wrong island.

Alex rushes over to the foliage and pulls out a small boat. She uses all her strength to push it to the ocean. Charlie and Claire take the oars she hands them. They give the teenager perplexed looks. Alex looks across to the other island then back at her newfound friends. She briefly smiles.

"My father, Ben, he'll be coming after you. Go. He's faster than he looks." Alex instructs.

Claire nods, hugging Alex again. "Thank you," she barely utters.

"What about you? Are you gonna get in trouble?" Charlie asks Alex.

Alex shrugs. "I'm sixteen. I get in trouble, it's what I do."

Charlie laughs before heading towards the boat. He helps Claire get in before pushing the boat the rest of the way into the water. He climbs in the back of the boat and begins to paddle. Claire paddles, too. She looks back at the Other's island, but Alex has already disappeared into the dark shadows of the trees. Charlie looks at the horizon; the last bit of the sun was sinking into the rolling waves. He paddles harder to try to get back to their island before midnight. Soon, the darkness envelopes Charlie and Claire. Charlie squints across and sees their island; they were about halfway across.

"Charlie?" Claire's voice asks into the night.

"Yeah, Claire?" Charlie responds.

Claire paddles and asks, "When do you think we'll get there?"

"Soon. We're almost there." Charlie tells her, sticking his oar back into the water.

Claire barely nods and says, "I miss Aaron."

"You'll get to see him shortly. Just keep paddling."

"Okay,"

"Don't worry. We'll be fine."

Suddenly, a small beam of light hits the back of Charlie's oar. "What the..." he utters turning to face the Others' island. His heart skips a beat. On the shore he could see the black silhouettes of three men and the beam of a flashlight pointing out at him and Claire. Charlie taps Claire's shoulder and she looks back and gasps upon seeing the flashlight's glow. "Get into the water." Charlie tells her.

"What?" she whispers.

"Get in the water. Go under." Charlie murmurs, trying to quietly lower his body into the cold water.

Claire nods and follows Charlie into the ocean. Charlie takes a hold of Claire's hand before sucking in a deep breath. They both dip under the water. The ocean water burns the new cuts on Charlie's head. He grimaces before seeing the stream of light moving across the water. Charlie squeezes Claire's hand as his lungs burn. Charlie hesitantly bobs his head above the water. He turns to the Other's island and sees no light and nobody.He tugs Claire to the surface. She sputters before looking to the shore, too. Charlie climbs up into the boat before reaching out and helping Claire into the boat. Charlie shivers before picking up his oar again. He turns to Claire and smiles before beginning to paddle again. They finally reach the island. Claire laughs joyously and leaps into the water and splashes ashore. Charlie watches her before wading to shore after her. Claire turns back to Charlie and hugs him tightly. Charlie smiles, releasing her. He takes her hands and they take off into the jungle.

"I can't believe we made it!" Claire exclaims as the sun rises.

Charlie nods, swinging their hands. "I knew we'd make it back." he states.

"How?" Claire asks, stepping over a rock.

"My great way of reasoning and being sneaky." Charlie kids.

"Oh, yeah. That was definitley it."

"Yup."

Claire laughs, looking up at Charlie. There was a deep gash in his forehead where Pickett's ring had cut him. Several small knicks were along his jawbone. She frowns, wishing she had some bandages. Charlie looks down at her and gives her a loving grin. The whole rest of the day they walked through the jungle, stepping over rocks and fallen trees. Near the late afternoon, Charlie's stomach began growling, which led to a discussion about food.

"I wish I had a massive hamburger. With lettuce, tomatoes, onions, pickles, mayonaisse, and ketchup." he dreams, licking his lips.

"Everyone wishes they had one of those." Claire smiles.

"Well, I'm starving. You ate all those fish cracker things." Charlie teases, bumping shoulders with her.

"You gave them to me. And I offered to give it back." Claire smiles, bumping him back.

"Okay, okay. Well, I also want an ice-cream sundae with chocolate and peanuts and caramel and cherries and whipped cream and--"

"Do we have to talk about food? It's just gonna make you even more hungry."

Charlie nods and responds, "True, but I still want to have food...Like you? Don't you want ice cream?"

"Sure, Charlie."

"Well, don't you?"

"Yes, I do," Claire laughs.

Suddenly, Charlie stops. Claire freezes, too.

"What?!" she asks worriedly.

"Listen. Do you hear that?" Charlie asks, smiling.

Claire strains her ears to listen. She barely hears the lapping of the waves. She smiles up at Charlie before they take off running towards the sound of the waves. They disregaurd the tree limbs ripping at their clothing. They run, never looking back. Charlie breaks through before Claire. Several people look up before screams of joy are heard. Charlie falls to his knees, laughing up at all the people's smiling faces. Charlie rises to his feet, giving Hurley a hug. Claire hugs everyone before calling out for Jack. The doctor is at the front of the crowd in seconds. He is shocked upon seeing Charlie and Claire. He smiles, hugging Claire, then Charlie. He looks at Charlie's cut up face and grimaces. Claire races down the beach to get Aaron from Sun and Jin. Jack looks over Charlie's face once more.

"C'mon, let's look over your face." Jack says, leading Charlie down the beach.

"M'kay," Charlie smiles, following the doctor.

Jack sits Charlie out in the sun before heading into his tent to get medical supplies. He comes back and sits by Charlie. He takes Charlie's face gently, turning it at difficult angles. He frowns and grabs his disinfectants. Charlie grimaces.

"So, what happened out there?" Jack asks dumping some antibiotics on a rag.

"The Others kept us in cages and didn't feed us anything. Well, except for lik a biscuit, but I gave mine to Claire. Then, Alex helped us escape." Charlie summarizes

"Okay, what happened to your face?"

"Oh, one of the Others went psycho and started beating me up. He was a bloody lunatic. Ow." Charlie flinches as Jack dabs his cuts.

Jack nods. "Well, I'm just glad to see you two alive," he tells Charlie with a smile as he cleans his friend's face.

"Yeah, me too," Charlie chuckles.

"Well, I'm going to have to stitch up that cut on your forehead."

"Fun." Charlie sarcastically responds.

Later that day, Charlie and Claire head to the dinner area to grab some dinner. Charlie piles his plate high with fish, boar, fruits, and bread. Claire bounces Aaron in her arms while grabbing herself some fish, bread, and cereal. They head back to Claire's hut where Claire lays Aaron in his cradle. Charlie immediately starts scarfing down his food. Claire takes a few bites of hers and laughs at Charlie. He smiles at her before ripping a hunk of boar meat off and shoves it in his mouth. Claire shakes her head at him.

"Slow down! We didn't live through all that just so you could come back here and choke to death." Claire laughs.

"I won't choke. I'm finished, anyway..." Charlie states, swallowing his last bite of meat. "Wanna go back for seconds?"

Claire giggles, "No. You're going to explode if you eat any more."

"Let's test that theory." Charlie jokes.

Claire sighs, acting annoyed. Charlie leans forward to kiss Claire but she pulls back.

"What?" Charlie asks with a twinkle in his eyes.

"You have food on your mouth!" Claire replies.

Charlie wipes his mouth on a napkin. "There, are you happy now?" he teases.

"Yes. I am." Claire smiles cheekily.

Charlie leans forwards again. He presses his lips against Claire's softly. Slowly, he pulls away with a sigh. SHe smiles up at him before kissing him again, deepening it slightly. Charlie cups her face in his hand Claire holds his other hand, interlacing their fingers. Charlie scoots closer, running his hands through Claire's soft hair. She wraps her arms around his neck. They break apart and smile giddily. Charlie kisses Claire's forehead tenderly before pulling off his ring. Claire looks over at Aaron to see that he was okay.

"Claire?" Charlie asks, standing.

"Hmm?" Claire asks, looking up at him.

"I love you...and Aaron. I want to be part of your family." he gently says.

"You are our family, Charlie." Claire smiles brightly.

Charlie kneels and pulls out his ring. "But I really want to be part of your family. Will you marry me?" Charlie asks hesitantly.

Claire is shocked into silence. She begins to cry and nods. "Y-y-yes," she sobs, wrapping her arms around Charlie's neck. "Yes, yes, yes."

Charlie hugs her back and smiles. Claire cries into Charlie's shoulder and then pulls away. Charlie slips the ring on her finger. It slides off.

"We might need to get it sized." he smiles.

Claire laughs before kissing Charlie. He had saved her so many times. Little did he know that he had just saved her again. He had saved her from a life of wondering what could have been. He saved her from being alone.

"I love you," Claire whispers in his ear.

"Hey, you said it first this time." Charlie jokes.

Claire pulls him to her and they kiss tenderly.

"I love you, too," Charlie mutters. "And I will until the day I die."


End file.
